The Oregon Coast

My nose was scrunched and my mouth full of dirt as I lifted myself up off the forest floor. Quickly I searched my pack for Handi Wipes, and removed the last trace of dirt from my face as a gray haired couple happened by. I got up, smiled sheepishly, and said with a bit of embarrassment, “I fell. It always happens when I’m too busy looking at the beautiful scenery.”

They laughed and agreed that the Oregon coast is fall-on-your-face beautiful. No doubt, all 363 miles are worth seeing, feeling, touching and knowing.

Along the Oregon coast, you will find many sea stacks or offshore rocks, protecting the coastline from the onslaught of waves. The waves are nature’s music, sometimes subtle, barely a whisper, and more often pounding and loud. Sea lions add to the symphony, barking out their daily repertoire, while harbor seals swim silently, big, dark eyes begging to be wanted, or so it seems.

Rain is frequent, fog often relentless, dew sometimes never-ending. But then the sun shines, the clouds vanish, and people get out and walk the beaches, searching for driftwood and other treasures. Many gather shells and agates, while others explore tide pools, gently touching starfish, sea anemones, and other colorful creatures. They gasp, squeal and smile with delight, usually continuing to do so even when the rains return.

Some days the coastline is calm, like a flat lake, and waves are virtually unseen. At other times, waves pound the coastline, sending water flying across roads, drenching parking areas, and tossing huge, washed-up trees about like tiny toothpicks. Waves smack against the sea stacks and spray sweeps the heavens.

Offshore Rocks
There is no doubt that sea stacks greatly add to the excitement of the Oregon coast. Visible in many places, but especially off the southern coast, the stacks range from huge monoliths shaped like whales or haystacks, to smaller ones adorned with arches. Some are flat on top while others are sharp and pointed, like a cathedral spire. Some are named, some are not.

Many sea stacks are roosting places and nesting sites for birds. Penguin-like tufted puffins nest on them, as do cormorants, common murres, pigeon guillemots, and an assortment of gulls. The sea is filled with animal life too, most of it hidden from those who stay above the water, though one of the largest creatures, the mighty gray whale, can be seen from shore.

I’ve seen a multitude of gray whales on the Oregon coast. In Port Orford while I was exploring the length of a rock jetty with my Samoyed, Sam, a gray whale blew about 30 feet away. Hearing the blow and feeling the spray was a highlight for both Sam and me.

The gray whale has the longest migration of any mammal, the majority of them swimming about 5,000 to 6,000 miles from the Arctic to Mexico every year to breed and calve. In late winter and early spring, they make the return trip. Some of the youngsters have shortened the journey, however, as a young population now lives off the Oregon coast for most of the year.

The migration peaks for the 45-foot long, 45-ton behemoths in late December and early January when as many as 30 whales an hour cruise by. Coastal headlands are the best places to look for whales as it helps to be up high and out to sea. Early mornings, overcast skies, and calm winds provide the best conditions for spotting the “blow” (a combination of vapor and water blown up to 12 feet into the air when the whale exhales).

The Oregon coast offers whale watching, as well as, beach combing, clamming, tide pooling, walking, jogging, traipsing on sand dunes, photography, horseback riding, golfing, bicycling and hiking.

Starting in the North
If you drive from north to south, you’ll begin your Oregon coast tour in Astoria, where there is a wonderful maritime museum, and the opportunity to gaze at your surroundings from the top of Astoria Column, a 125-foot tower perched atop 600-foot Coxcomb Hill. Heading south past roomy pastures and the small town of Seaside, site of the end of the Lewis and Clark expedition in November 1805, you’ll come to Haystack Rock, a 235-foot monolith at Cannon Beach. Haystack Rock is not only one of the largest freestanding rocks in the world, it is also one of the most photographed.

Farther south, you’ll enter beautiful Nehalem Bay, where there are endless opportunities to see great blue herons and numerous other species of bird life as you wind along the enormous bay, back to the sea.

The Pacific Ocean is a welcome companion once again as you head to Tillamook, site of the Tillamook cheese factory. A popular tourist attraction, it offers the chance to sample all types of delicious cheeses.

Highway 101 remains inland south of Tillamook, but you have the option of driving to the Three Capes. Though a steep and narrow road takes you past Cape Meares, Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda, it’s a delightful side trip along the rugged coast, and then the road merges back onto Highway 101 south of the Three Capes. I was hiking to the end of Cape Lookout the day I fell. Occasional views to the north and south pierced the fragrant, pine-blessed coastal headland. As I hiked along, I realized that the scenes before me were worthy of a mouth full of dirt.

Smallest Harbor
South of Lincoln City, the coast seems to increase in beauty. Boiler Bay offers the remains of an old shipwreck at low tide, while Depoe Bay is home to the world’s smallest harbor. Here you can sit on the sea wall, dangle your legs, and eat a snack while you watch the waves breaking.

Farther south there are more magnificent sights off the Otter Crest Loop. Atop Cape Foulweather—where winds sometimes gust to 100 mph—you’ll find a gift shop filled with souvenirs. If whale watching is more to your liking, you’ll find the cape a perfect place from which to spot whales.

The Otter Crest Loop merges with Highway 101 once again as you head south through the town of Newport and on to the lovely town of Yachats and nearby Cape Perpetua, a land of awesome beauty, abundant tide pools, hiking trails and more.

South of there, at Strawberry Hill, you’ll find a perfect spot from which to observe pudgy harbor seals resting on offshore rocks. Unlike sea lions, which can hop on shore, using flippers and tail to move about with ease, harbor seals slither onto rocks like giant slugs. Heaving their blubbery bodies mere inches at a time, they use tiny flippers to shove aside any other harbor seals that might be in their way.

Look for the Heceta Head Lighthouse as you make your way to the Sea Lion Caves, a popular tourist attraction where visitors descend by elevator into a cave inhabited by a herd of wild sea lions.

As you continue south, you’ll have the opportunity to visit many more Oregon Coast highlights: the sand dunes of Florence, a quiet boat harbor at Charleston, a series of immense sea stacks in Bandon, and a spectacular 360-degree view from atop Cape Sebastian. Farther south, rocky shorelines, lonely beaches and rock arches come into play.

As you explore the Oregon Coast, remember to keep an eye on your feet. If you don’t, you’re bound to find out for yourself that the Oregon coast truly is fall-on-your-face beautiful.

Donna Ikenberry is a writer and photographer who lives in South Fork, Colorado.